There's Going to be an Explosion, All Right

By greyeyedgirl

A/n: Takes place as if most of the stuff in the finale didn't happen…no Burke getting shot, no tension (more than usual, anyway) in the hospital.

Summary: Cristina and Burke celebrate the Fourth of July.

Written in teleplay…I hardly ever do this, but hey, whatever. It's all good.

-o-

Scene 1

INT. Bang Apartment, morning

Burke is laying with his arm around Cristina, his head in her hair. She is sleeping, looking peaceful. All is well. Suddenly, there is a loud noise like a bunch of shots being fired. It's fireworks. Cristina sits up.

CRISTINA: (groggy) What the hell!

Cristina gets up, rolling her eyes and heading into the bathroom in a bra and a pair of boxers. Burke rolls over in his sleep, reaches to put arm around her again and frowns, realizing she's not there.

BURKE: (without opening eyes) Cristina?

Cristina comes back into the bedroom, looking annoyed with her hair all over the place. She lays back down in the bed, ripping the pillow from right under Burke's head and wrapping it around her own head so she can't hear anything.

BURKE: (tired) What's the matter with you?

CRISTINA: It's barely 3 in the morning and it sounds like World War III out there, that's what's the matter with me.

Burke looks tired, mumbles something about "happy independence day", and rolls over to face the other side, grabbing the other pillow and going back to bed.

There are more fireworks heard going off, Cristina groans and gets up.

CRISTINA: Guess I'll go to work early!

Burke doesn't stir, just waves at her vaguely without opening his eyes.

Scene 2

INT. SGH INTERN LOCKER ROOM

Meredith, Izzie, and George are changing into their scrubs, talking.

IZZIE: (laughing) So we were playing Scrabble, and Denny put "bang," and I told him that was totally inappropriate, and he said it was almost the Fourth of July, he was being patriotic, and then-

Meredith and George exchange looks, aren't listening. Cristina comes into the locker room, already in her scrubs with two charts under her arm.

MEREDITH: You've stolen two charts already? When did YOU get here?

Cristina smirks, but looks tired. Izzie has stopped talking and is now looking at her.

IZZIE: Late night?

CRISTINA: Early morning. Fireworks going off all down my supposedly all-apartment complex street, I swear, if I want to hear bursts and bangs at 3 in the morning I'd be in Iraq, wouldn't I?

Alex has just walked in and hears her.

ALEX: Seriously. If anything's going to be bursting or banging, it better be me.

Alex winks at Izzie, who looks disgusted.

GEORGE: I think it's nice. Patriotic.

All the other interns look at him. Bailey saunters into the locker room, looks slightly tired.

BAILEY: Alright, people. We need at least 2 of you working the Pit, it'll be a big day, people blowin' themselves up left and right. Prepare to do a lot of sutures, make sure there's no infections, and so on and so on. Oh, and there'll be a lot of freaked out parents, so remember to be nice. The last thing they need is doctors who are just trying to rush back up to the OR without giving their kid the time of day.

Bailey looks at them to reinforce her point.

BAILEY: (cont) Now, come on. We've got a guy in 207 and a girl in 293, they both need your attention. And Izzie, Dr. Burke has requested you be removed from Denny Duquette's case, so an intern from another resident will be helping him, and you'll be-

IZZIE: (interrupting) Wait! Why was I taken off Denny's case?

Bailey looks at her like she's got a good idea on why, but just shrugs.

BAILEY: You'd have to take it up with Dr. Burke. (changes tone) Now scoot! Come on, I want rounds done by 7 AM!

Scene 3

INT. SGH Hallway a few minutes later

The interns all follow Bailey into the first patient's room, a man of about 25 is laying there with three tiny kids all jumping around his bed. A woman about the same age as the man is there too.

BAILEY: Who's presenting?

GEORGE: Um, Mr. Tyler Hargitay. Presents with unequal breath sounds and a fever of 102 for most of the night. Found to have a tiny mass growing on his left lung.

TYLER: (joking, laughs) Not tiny enough though, right?

BAILEY: Treatment?

GEORGE: Oh, uh, perform a respiratory alpingectomy and thoracic carcototomy to remove the mass and repair the damage.

WOMAN: (nervously) That's a lot of big words.

CRISTINA: It basically means we're going to take out the mass, and sew up the lung before he can lose too much blood.

Woman looks nervous.

TYLER: Hey Annie…it's gonna be fine.

Annie looks slightly less worried, tries to smile. The interns move to follow Bailey out of the room. They walk a down a few corridors until they get to another room. Bailey opens the door.

CRISTINA: (quickly) Kiara Kaligarez, 4-year-old girl who presents with a brain tumor. Has already had two tumors, one behind her knee and one on her stomach, two years ago.

KIARA: (with a cute little kid voice) Hi. I'm this many.

Kiara holds up 4 fingers. Kiara is a young Greek girl. The other people in the room are Kiara's parents, her father is standing very straight and is wearing a suit, her mother looks very youthful and is dressed very professionally.

MRS. KALIGAREZ: She'll be okay, right?

CRISTINA: If Dr. Shepherd can get all of the tumor, she should be. But she'll need extensive chemotherapy and radiation, and then-

BAILEY: (interrupting) Cristina.

Cristina stops. The other interns look uncomfortable, except for Izzie who looks like she's thinking about something else.

BAILEY: (gently) Dr. Shepherd should be in with you shortly to discuss the surgery more fully.

The interns and Bailey exit the hospital room, start walking down the hall.

BAILEY: Um…Izzie, you take Mr. Hargitay, pick up the results of his latest chest scan. Meredith, you get Kiara. Dr. Shepherd ordered an MRI, so get the results of that. She had a CT a few days ago, the labs are in her chart. George, you're on scut today. Run labs, catch up on paperwork. If it gets busy head to the ER. Alex and Cristina, head down to the Pit. And remember what I said, got that?

All the interns nod, each rushing off to their assignment.

BAILEY: (turning and murmering to herself) It's gonna be a loooong day.

Scene 4

INT. SGH Emergency Room, much later in the day

Cristina and Alex are arguing about something, standing a few feet away from a teen whose hand and arm is burned severely. The scent of burning flesh is wafting through the ER.

CRISTINA: If all you're going to do is take the cool stuff and leave me with crap like THAT-

Cristina points to across the room, where there's a girl of about 9 who obviously needs stitches on her foot

ALEX: (smirking) You had a bad time sleeping, I thought you would be better off with an easy workload…

GUY WITH BURNED ARM: Um…hello!

The interns both turn to look at him.

CRISTINA: I've already done 7 sutures this morning, and it's barely 10:30. HE-

She points once again to the guy with a burned arm.

CRISTINA: (cont) Needs a skin graft. I'm getting OR time today. And that little girl-

Cristina points to the girl who needs stitches, who is whining about her foot.

CRISTINA: Is a little brat.

GIRL WHO NEEDS STITCHES: What is this, Mexico? Can I please get some assistance?

The girl's mother looks horrified. Alex and Cristina both turn to look at her.

CRISTINA: Feel free to go Kavorkian.

Cristina goes over to the skin-graft guy.

CRISTINA: Playing with matches?

SKIN-GRAFT GUY: Lighting a sparkler.

Cristina looks like she's trying not to laugh.

CRISTINA: You're going to need surgery. A skin graft. I can sew up some of the superficial wounds, but most of your arm is gone. I'm guessing the nurses already gave you some painkillers?

SKIN-GRAFT GUY: (laughs) Oh yeah, I'm hopped up good. I'm Jason Kingsley, by the way.

CRISTINA: (inspecting his arm) Okay. Let's get you up to the second floor.

Scene 5

INT. Seattle Grace Hospital hallway, even later in the day.

Cristina is exiting the OR, wiping her hands on her scrubs obviously having just scrubbed out. Cristina is grinning broadly. Burke is shown farther down the hallway, talking to Izzie about something. Burke looks up and sees Cristina, turns back to Izzie and says firmly-

BURKE: I'm sorry, Stevens. But you're off of Denny's case, and that's final. I want to see the results of Mr. Hargitay's Echo by the end of the day. Excuse me.

Burke leaves Izzie, rushing down the hall to Cristina.

BURKE: Hey!

CRISTINA: (turns to see him, is still grinning) Hey!

BURKE: (falling into step with her) I haven't seen you all day.

CRISTINA: (slightly confused, still kind of high from the surgery) You saw me this morning.

BURKE: (laughs) Yes, but I wasn't really awake yet.

Cristina nods, smiling slightly.

BURKE: I thought you were in the Pit…

Burke turns his head backwards and nods towards the OR she came out of.

BURKE: (cont) You get a case?

CRISTINA: Skin-graft, after about a billion sutures.

BURKE: (looks slightly relieved) A skin graft? So you won't have to stay tonight?

Cristina looks slightly confused.

CRISTINA: Uh, no. I'm not on-call. Why?

BURKE: (laughs) It's the Fourth of July, Cristina. I wondered if you wanted to go see the fireworks.

Cristina looks skeptical, pretty unenthusiastic.

CRISTINA: What, you didn't get enough of a show this morning?

Something about what Cristina says strikes Burke as slightly funny, he raises an eyebrow, and Cristina blushes.

CRISTINA: (cont) Oh haha. Why would you want to go, anyway? They have them every year, don't you get tired of it?

Burke raises his eyebrow again.

BURKE: I have a birthday every year too, but I never get tired of getting presents.

Cristina rolls her eyes, then smiles.

BURKE: (smiling) But seriously. It'll be fun. I heard they have really nice ones by the harbor, people go out on the ferryboats and-

CRISTINA: (interrupts) No ferryboats.

Burke looks confused.

BURKE: No ferryboats?

Cristina smiles platonically.

BURKE: Well, there are some other choices as well. What time do you get off?

CRISTINA: Um…7:30.

BURKE: Well, that'd be fine. I'm off at seven, I could run home and get folding chairs or a blanket, then come pick you up. We can go to the harbor, we don't have to go on the ferryboat, most people don't---

Cristina doesn't look ecstatic.

CRISTINA: You sure you want to? It gets kind of loud.

Burke looks at her.
BURKE: No kidding.

Burke sighs.

BURKE: Do you want to go?

Cristina doesn't answer, tries to smile.

CRISTINA: Oh, um.. Sure. Why not.

BURKE: (looks hesitant, then smiles) Well alright then.

CRISTINA: Alright.

Scene 6

INT. SGH locker room. About 6:30 PM.

All five of the interns are in the locker room, Meredith and Alex have changed out of their scrubs, they're obviously already off-call. Cristina is laying on her back on a bench, Meredith is sitting at her feet looking down with her hair falling in front of her face, Alex and Izzie are leaning against one side of the lockers, and George is standing awkwardly in front of the other.

ALEX: (sarcastic) Hey, thanks for sticking me with that little joy earlier, Yang. Regular sweetheart, that one. She screamed the whole time I was sewing up her foot, and when I gave her the anesthetic she bit me.

Cristina laughs from her place on the bench. Her eyes are closed.

CRISTINA: (just as sarcastic) Thanks for sticking me with the three drunk thirteen-year-olds before that. They were fun to suture.

IZZIE: I can't believe Burke took me off Denny's case.

MEREDITH: I can't believe Derek didn't pick me.

GEORGE: I can't believe I work with these people.

CRISTINA: You know I have to watch the fireworks tonight? Burke's making me go to the harbor with him.

MEREDITH: (sadly) I thought I was going to go to the harbor to see fireworks on the ferryboat with Derek. Now I have to go with the McVet.

IZZIE: I can't believe you guys are talking about fireworks when Denny's lying in a hospital bed!

Cristina opens her eyes and groans.

CRISTINA: Izzie, for the whole time you've known him, Denny's been lying in a hospital bed.

Izzie looks angry and storms out.

GEORGE: I wish I could go to the fireworks. But I'm on-call all night.

CRISTINA: You'll still get to hear them. Believe me.

ALEX: Well, I'm going to be doing some exploding of my own tonight. There's a new path intern who transferred from Chicago, and we've had some sparks. (grins)

GEORGE: Remember to point her out to me later. I don't want to accidentally catch anything again.

Cristina sits up.

CRISTINA: Why does Burke want to do all the 'couple-things' anyway?

MEREDITH: Because you're a couple. Aren't you?

Cristina rolls her eyes at her.

CRISTINA: So that means we have to do every clichéd thing Hallmark ever invented?

MEREDITH: Technically, I don't think Hallmark invented the Fourth of July, Cristina.

Cristina stands up.

ALEX: Why do you care so much, anyway? It's just one thing, on one night. Sure, it's gonna suck, but it's just one night.

CRISTINA: I don't like big crowds. I don't like 'community.' I don't like doing things with people. And I hate the Fourth of July.

MEREDITH: (almost smiling, looks tired) You know what you just said was totally horrible.

GEORGE: Maybe it'll be fun. Pretty lights, cool explosions.

CRISTINA: It's almost 7. I have to go. I want to check up on my patients before I go.

Cristina grabs a small bag of chips that was sitting on the floor and starts to walk out of the locker room, eating the last of her chips before tossing the bag in the trash and heading out the door.

ALEX: (looks at the door Cristina just slammed) (mutters) There's going to be an explosion, all right.

Scene 7

EXT. Seattle Grace Hospital, evening. Cristina comes out of the hospital wearing a black leather jack and finds Burke sitting on a bench outside.

CRISTINA: Hey.

BURKE: (looks up as if startled) Oh! Hi. You ready?

CRISTINA: Mmhmm.

BURKE: There's a hill looking over the beach where some people go. I called ahead and reserved a parking spot.

CRISTINA: You have to reserve a parking spot?

BURKE: (smiles) It gets pretty crowded.

Burke stands up and starts walking with Cristina towards the car. The wind is blowing Cristina's hair all over the place. Burke puts his arm around Cristina's waist.

BURKE: (smiles lightly) So. This should be fun.

CRISTINA: (smiles a small smile) Yeah.

They reach the car and Burke goes around to unlock Cristina's door then holds it open for her.

CRISTINA: Thank you.

Burke walks around the front of the car to climb into the driver's seat, wiping his hands on his jeans as he does so.

Scene 8

EXT. Seattle coast. There is a large parking lot, and a huge gray building. The outline of a small building is visible in the distance. It's darker than before, but still not completely nighttime yet.

Burke and Cristina get out of the car, Cristina starts walking forward. Burke opens the door to the backseat and pulls out two large blankets. He walks to the front of the car where Cristina is standing waiting for him.

BURKE: (noticing Cristina looking at the blankets) It's more comfortable than folding chairs. The big one is for us to sit on, the little one is for if you get cold.

Cristina looks at him skeptically, since it's pretty hot out, but Burke just smiles.

BURKE: Wait for it to get dark. You'll see.

They start walking forward, and eventually find a wide crowded hill that leads down to a beach. One or two ferryboats can be seen on the water, and there are little kids running around all over with sparklers and glow sticks.

BURKE: Are you hungry? (points) There's a concession stand.

CRISTINA: Not right now.

Cristina sees Burke's face, and tries to smile.

CRISTINA: (cont) But maybe later.

Burke and Cristina find a slightly secluded spot, and Burke puts the large blanket over the grass, sitting down and setting the second neatly folded blanket to his right. Cristina sits down next to him.

CRISTINA: So now what.

BURKE: (laughs) You're acting like you've never been to the Fourth of July before!

CRISTINA: I've never really been a holiday person.

Burke just raises his eyebrow and smiles, leaning back slightly and drawing his knees to his chest.

BURKE: Just wait. You'll see.

Scene 9

EXT. the hill where Cristina and Burke are sitting. It's much darker now, and Cristina and Burke are both sitting and Cristina has the second blanket over her legs. Cristina has a hot dog slathered with ketchup and is holding a diet coke. Burke has a bottled water sitting next to him and has a bag of popcorn in his lap. His arm is around Cristina's waist and her head is against his shoulder, as she picks at her hot dog and then reaches over for a handful of his popcorn.

CRISTINA: So when is this big show happening?

BURKE: Soon. They should start in a few minutes. You want anything else to eat before then? (raises eyebrows, looking at her put the popcorn in her mouth) Like, say, some popcorn?

Cristina's face turns red and she stops with her hand to her mouth. She swallows quickly and doesn't respond. Burke can't help grinning.

BURKE: It'll be any minute now.

It seems to be getting darker by the minute, and mothers' and fathers' voices can be heard, calling their kids to come sit with the family.

There is suddenly a loud high-pitched squealing noise, followed by a small burst and then a crackling sound. Cristina and Burke's head both shoot upwards, as more of these sounds follow. There is orange and yellow explosions in the sky, purple streaming upwards, and then silence.

KABOOM KABOOM KABOOM is heard. Burke draws Cristina closer, knocking the bag of popcorn over as he does so, as an amazing spectacle unfolds. There are tiny yellow bursts, and red and green swirls filling up the sky. There is a sound like a bunch of gunshots, and the sky erupts with color.

CRISTINA: (quietly) Wow.

Burke doesn't respond, just smiles. They both sit up straighter, looking up and watching the show.

Scene 10

EXT. outside of Cristina and Burke's apartment building. A silver car comes into the parking lot, swerving into a space before cutting off the engine. Burke steps out and Cristina follows a minute later. Cristina looks tired, which is understandable because it's pretty late.

BURKE: (opening the back door to the car and taking out the blankets) Wow! Did you see that finale?

CRISTINA: (doesn't look thrilled, but smiles) It was nice.

Burke grins at her, seeing she isn't miserable, and they start walking into the apartment building. Cut to them outside a door in the hallway that has a large "8" on it.

Cristina goes to get the door, but Burke grabs it first, turning his key in the lock. He leads her in, flipping on the light as she follows. Burke tosses the blankets lightly on the couch.

BURKE: Wow. I'm exhausted.

CRISTINA: Yeah.

BURKE: (frowns slightly, disappointed) Didn't you enjoy yourself?

CRISTINA: (smiles) Yeah, I did. (long pause)

CRISTINA: (cont) But Burke, I'm never going to be some mini-van driving, soccer mom who loves the Fourth of July and barbecues and decorating the tree at Christmas and holding the kids' hand on the first day of kindergarten. I'm just not.

BURKE: (eyes slightly widened) No. Of course not.

CRISTINA: (smiles slightly wider) But today was nice.

BURKE: (seeing her smiling, decided to take a chance) Why don't you like the Fourth of July, anyway? It's an important holiday.

CRISTINA: (shrugging and taking off her jacket) I don't know. I've never liked things like that. I'm specifically biased against this one though, ever since Billy Krishno lit off a bunch of sparklers during recess once in second grade. I was just stepping out of the school from helping my teacher erase the chalk board, and I got rammed with it in the arm.

BURKE: (trying very hard not to laugh) Ah. I see.

CRISTINA: (does laugh) They're loud, too. And bad for the environment. Did you see the way the sky was gray after they went off? That's the air you're breathing, you know.

Burke laughs.

BURKE: Legitimate points.

CRISTINA: (smiles) Yeah. But…still. Tonight wasn't horrible.

BURKE: (grinning) I'm glad you thought so.

Burke takes a step closer, his face only inches from hers. He kisses her quickly, before starting to lead her into the bedroom.

BURKE: (cont) But the night isn't over yet.